Commercialisation Advisory Board

Larry Lopez is a partner at Perth-based Australian Venture Consultants (AVC). AVC enables their clients’ decision-making processes through fact-based analytics informed by research and the insights it has acquired through almost 30 years of hands-on experience and engagements across the innovation and technology start-up ecosystem. AVC’s client list includes Fortune 100 companies, venture-backed start-ups, industry advocacy groups, universities, venture capital funds and private equity managers.

Prior to moving to Australia in 2006, Lopez spent 17 years at Silicon Valley Bank. During his tenure at SVB he held various senior and executive positions, and played a key role in growing the company from a local community bank to a global leader in providing financial services for knowledge-based companies and investors. He was the founder and Managing Director of the Bank’s International Venture Capital Group and was an active investor in Israel, Australia and Europe.

Lopez is a director of several IT-related private companies and sits on several, not-for-profit boards. He has also been a partner or director of several venture capital funds in the US and Europe and he is currently a director of Jolimont Global Mining Systems, a global venture capital fund focused on the investing in technology that enables the mining sector.

Kath Giles is an Investment Manager at Brandon Capital Partners, a $300M Life Sciences investment fund headquartered in Melbourne. Before this, Giles was an Investment Manager with Perth-based Stone Ridge Ventures, a generalist fund manager specialising in seed-to-early stage technology investment. In addition to her investment experience, Giles has had start-up experience in medical app development, diagnostics and fitness devices. Giles still practices as a medical doctor in the surgical field.

Qualifications: B.Met (Hons +Uni medal), FTSE, FAIM, GAICD

Over the last two years, Denise Goldsworthy has successfully transitioned to the third phase of her career – as a non-executive director and advisor on research, technology and innovation. As the founder of Alternate Futures Pty Ltd, a company that connects solutions to problems by addressing knowledge, cultural and system barriers, Goldsworthy and her team connect Australia’s research organisations, tech start-ups and industry to deliver results and proactively manage disruptive technologies.

Goldsworthy is also Chairman of ChemCentre WA; an NED for Arrium (ASX200); an NED for Export Finance and Insurance Commission (EFIC); a member of Council and Chair of the Quality, Audit and Risk Committee at Edith Cowan University; a member of the Commercialisation Advisory Board for Curtin University; a trustee for the Navy Clearance Diver’s Trust; a judge for the Prime Minister’s National Science awards; an advisor to Australia’s Chief Scientist on the national Energy and Resources Research priorities; and an advisor to AusTrade’s Global Mining Customer Acceptance Programme (GMCAP). Previously Goldsworthy was also an NED and member of the Risk Committee for Aquila Resources (ASX200).

Goldsworthy started her career at BHP Steel Newcastle, with 17 years in leadership roles in both operations and technology for ironmaking and steelmaking. Following this, Goldsworthy worked as an executive for Rio Tinto for 15 years, with roles including CCO Autonomous Haul Trucks, Managing Director of Dampier Salt, Managing Director HIsmelt and Director Major Projects RTIO. Among Goldsworthy’s honours is being named the 2010 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year. She is also a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) and was inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

David Henderson is an experienced director and investment committee member, with good corporate governance background. He has been a member of four investment committees and a director or chairman of 19 companies, including one which became Australia’s largest biotech IPO, and two companies that raised funds in the US. He combines strategy and analysis from his Harvard MBA and time at Booz Allen and McKinsey with a good understanding of a wide range of technologies from managing commercialisation across five universities, and a collegiate personal style that leads and guides teams to achieve their goals.

His experience spans investment, large corporates, start-ups, top tier management consulting, commercialisation and research in a university and public sector research environment. He has a track record of building businesses and assets, delivering strong growth in all the companies he has led.

Michael Quinn co-founded Innovation Capital in 1999 and is Managing Partner of the firm.

Quinn’s experience encompasses a broad range of industries including banking, high-technology plastics, environmental, electronics, wireless, web, alternative energy and life science in US, Europe and Australia. Quinn has founded several companies and advised and mentored numerous others in operational, strategic and financial matters. As an executive and director, he has participated in ASX, AIM, NASDAQ and NYSE initial public offerings and has extensive M&A experience. He actively supports several ‘not-for-profits’ and ‘think tanks’.

In 2013 Quinn retired as a director of ResMed Inc (ASX and NYSE: RMD), after 21 years. ResMed is a world leader in the respiratory healthcare market. Quinn also co-founded Memtec, which was acquired by US Filter in 1997 for US$400 million. Quinn is currently chairman of Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited (ASX:IIL), the developer of a drug candidate to treat secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. He is also a director of unlisted companies including Windlab Ltd, Simply Wall St Pty Ltd, and others.

Bill Tai is a co-creator of OzApps in his role as an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University. He is an investor based in Silicon Valley where he established the west coast presence for Charles River Ventures and represents the fund as an investor in Wish.com and Scribd. Trained as a silicon chip designer, he became a VC in 1991 and has served as board director of seven publicly listed companies he initially funded as start-ups.

Tai is a co-founder and serves as Chairman of Treasure Data, a Board Director and Head of the Strategy Committee for Bitfury.org and a Director of Voxer. When not building tech companies, he is supporting Ocean Conservation as a co-founder of MaiTai Global and serves on theTechnology Pioneer Committee of the World Economic Forum.

Professor Chris Moran joined Curtin University on 1 August 2016 as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research. From 2007 to 2016 Professor Moran was Professor and Director, Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) at The University of Queensland (UQ). The institute comprises seven discipline-based research centres and is one of the largest entities of its kind in the world.

Previously, Moran was Founding Director, Centre for Coal Seam Gas (UQ) and Founding Director, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (UQ). Across a 16-year career with CSIRO, he held a range of leadership roles, including heading the team that developed the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Program.

Moran has been a board member of five cooperative research centres. In the international domain, he was Director of the International Mining for Development Centre and established an International Centre of Excellence for the mining industry in Chile.

He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences (with Honours) and a PhD from the University of Sydney and has a strong international and national reputation for his research and expertise in soil science (digital image processing), natural resources (spatial modelling and statistics) and water management. Moran has published widely in scientific literature and the broader media.

Kevin Fynn is a professor at Curtin University’s School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences.

Fynn is a distinguished research engineer, engineering manager, and electrical engineering practitioner. He has been closely associated with industry and engineering research and development for more than 20 years and has an outstanding record of design leadership and of building major research and development facilities. As director of the Western Australian Telecommunications Research Institute, he was responsible for its overall strategic direction and its corporate performance. At an operational level, he was responsible for commercialisation and management functions.

His success in running a commercially focused centre is shown by the funding the institute received, including from cooperative research centres, WA State Government centres of excellence in industry-focused research, an AusIndustry Technology Diffusion grant, AusIndustry Comet grants, AusIndustry Commercial Ready Grants, and many industry consultancies. He has filed eight patents and has more than 30 publications in diverse electrical engineering fields.

His commercial experience includes providing technology systems and services to the resources industry, establishing strategic relationships with leading ICT corporations and has been involved in numerous industry projects including international companies such as Boeing (USA). He sits on the Curtin’s Commercialisation Advisory Board. He is the co-founder of Xelor Pty Ltd, Sensear Pty Ltd, TheBuzz Corp Pty Ltd, iCetana Pty Ltd, Hearmore Pty Ltd, Nuheara Pty Ltd, and MobiRoam Pty Ltd.

Rohan McDougall has been the Director of IP Commercialisation at Curtin University since 2008. He has more than 20 years of experience in the commercialisation of new technologies including being integrally involved in the establishment and operation of numerous technology-based companies. McDougall has played a lead role in negotiation and completion of countless technology-based agreements and partnerships with companies in Australia and internationally. He has worked in both a commercial start-up environment and in institutional technology transfer roles. Before Curtin, he worked for a listed biotechnology company as the Chief Operating Officer and in the commercialisation of technology out of the University of New South Wales as a General Manager, Life Sciences at Unisearch Ltd.

Qualifications include a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA from the AGSM. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Current directorships include iCetana Pty Ltd (Chairman), HiSeis Pty Ltd (Chairman), ePAT Pty Ltd (Chairman) Skrydata Pty Ltd and Renergi Pty Ltd. Other activities include co-founding a number of innovation community events including Univation and the OzAPP Awards.

David Menarry is Curtin University’s Chief Financial Officer and also has extensive corporate experience including corporate finance, due diligence, stock exchange listings, risk management and audit in Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Menarry is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Menarry also holds a number of board and community-based roles.